Mombosa Sugar and Spice Candied Nuts

These nuts are so easy to make and they are the perfect gift!  I got the inspiration to use this spice that I got from a spice monger at the Reading Terminal Market in Philly.  From the research I have been able to do I have found that this is a variant of cayenne from a certain spice region of Africa.   Any hot smoked paprika or cayenne pepper will work as a substitute.  I like the Mombosa because it works well with the flavors of this recipe and has a hidden kick that hits the palate after the cinnamon and sugar combinations hit your tongue.  This recipe is easy to work with especially if you want to multiply it.

1 pound total of any nut or combination

1/3 cup dark-brown sugar
2/3 cup white granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon of Mombosa or Cayenne (1/4 teaspoon of hot smoked paprika)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon of sweet cocoa powder

Worcestershire sauce
1 egg white, room temperature
1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Add sugars, salt, Mombosa, cocoa and cinnamon to a food processor until mixture is well blended and begins to have a powdery texture, and set aside.  Beat egg white and water until frothy but not stiff. Add nuts, and stir to coat evenly. Sprinkle nuts with sugar mixture, and toss until evenly coated. Spread sugared nuts in a single layer on a cookie sheet fitted with parchment paper.  Gently sprinkle Worcestershire sauce over them. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent from sticking to each other. Remove from oven, sprinkle with Worcester sauce again, and separate nuts as they cool. When completely cool, pour the nuts into a bowl, breaking up any that stick together.

The Kickin' Sliders

So good, you really will want more!! 

I invite you to experiment with different 80/20 to 84/16 meats and maybe different Aioli’s.  It's best to modify the burgers to match the bun size you find at your local grocer or bakery.  The reason I used the different liquors because I found different inspirations for each and wanted to see what the combinations might taste like.  I would say this recipe was influenced by Jose Garces' creative use of ingredients that to me, on their own may not work well, but somehow do.  It was at one of his restaurants on a recent trip to Philly that I realized this.  I look forward to experimenting with some spices found on that same trip and I hope to try and recreate some of the different foods I tried!!

Kickin’ Sliders w/Bourbon Onions

By Ted Slee

Servings: Approx 12 Burgers – 6 to 8 People

Prep Time: 15-20 mins

Cook Time:  20 mins

Ingredients

The Bourbon Onions:

2 tbls extra-virgin olive oil

2 Vidalia onions, sliced paper thin

2 tbls bourbon

3 tbls unsalted butter

2 tbls granulated sugar

Sea Salt and Black Pepper

The Kickin’ Aioli:

2 cups of mayonnaise

1 tbls tequila

2 tbls fresh lime juice

3 tbls pickled jalapenos

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Sea Salt and Black Pepper

For the Sliders:

3 pounds ground Angus beef, divided in to 3-4 oz patties, 1/2” thick (palm size).

Vegetable oil, for the grill

Garlic salt and Black Pepper

12 Dinner rolls or Mini buns

Unsalted softened butter, for toasting up rolls

Preparation

The Bourbon Onions:

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet on med-high until glistening.  Gently add onions stirring to coat and reduce heat to low, cooking till golden brown.  When goldenly gorgeous, take off the heat and stir in the Bourbon.  Heat on low and add butter until melted then stir in sugar, cook until most of the liquid is gone.

The Kickin’ Aioli:

Pulse all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender until combined.  Can be refrigerated until ready to use.

The Beef:

Brush Vegetable Oil on a preheated grill set to med-high.  Season with the garlic salt and pepper to taste. Grill until browned and cooked halfway through, 3 to 4 minutes.  Flip the beef, top with some of the caramelized onions and cook 3 more minutes for medium (or to desired doneness).

The Buns:

Spread butter on the insides of the buns, toast on the grill until golden brown, about 1 minute.

The Presentation:

Liberally spoon a tablespoon of Kickin’ Aioli on the inside of the bun tops.  Assemble with the burgers & onions and pierce with a skewers.

Guacamole & Fresh Chips

Guacamole & Homemade Tortilla Chips

Prep Time: 15 – 20 mins

Servings: 6 – 8 People

Ingredients

Guac:

2 Haas Avocado

½ Vidalia Onion (minced)

3 Tbs Habanero Salsa

2 Tbs Cilantro Chopped

1 Tsp Minced Garlic

½ Lime Juiced

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Chips:

2 12” Flour Tortillas

Vegetable Oil (Enough to fill stock pot 1” deep)

Sea Salt

Preparation

Guac:

Mix all ingredients by hand or stand mixer on low with whip attachment.

Chips:

Put oil in pot on med/hi until glistening.  Test with a tortilla strip to see if oil is ready to fry strips.  Cut tortillas into random strips or triangles around 1 ½” in size.  Fry in small batches.  Cook strips only 20 – 40 secs per side or until golden brown.  Drain cooked chips on paper towels and sprinkle sparingly with sea salt.

How to Survive a Superbowl Party

So the superbowl to me is more than a game.  It’s about getting friends together sharing some great food.  I have hosted many a Superbowl game in the past, especially when my New England Patriots were playing.  They key to any good superbowl party is spreading the love…  What I mean is, asking friends to bring a dish each which has usually been assigned.  This is key, especially if you want to be able to relax and enjoy the game and not be slaving in the kitchen!!  Since this is a Super Bowl party, if it doesn’t fit on a small plate it doesn’t make the cut.  There is nothing worse than 30 people trying to sit in front of the TV, watching the game while trying to each with a fork and knife with the plate on their lap.  I love making guacamole with home made tortilla chips.  I like a little heat in my guac and I have come up with a recipe that uses some shortcuts.  I use habanero or chipotle based salsa instead of diced tomato.  The heat plays well against the creamy avocado.  A Vidalia onion, some cilantro and fresh lime make it game time!  The tortilla chips are made from store bought flour tortillas cut into any shape you want and then pan fried in oil, then sprinkled with sea salt.

I was once defeated, but now I am victorious! Here is My Red Velvet Cup Cake Recipe!

Ted's Red Velvet Cupcakes…

Oh victory is sweet, so sweet!!

Total Cooking Time: 55 min

Yield: 16 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

10 ounces all-purpose flour – 2 cups

3/4 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoons salt – sea salt

1 1/2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 cups vegetable oil

8 ounces granulated sugar – 7/8 cups

3/4 cups buttermilk

2 eggs

2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons red food coloring 

3/4 teaspoons vinegar (white or apple cider can both work)

3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/16 cup water

For the cream cheese frosting:

3/4 pounds cream cheese at room temperature

1/2 pound butter, room temperature

1 pounds powdered sugar, sifted

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preparation:

For the cupcakes:

Preheat oven 350 degrees F.

Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder into a bowl whisk gently till well blended and set aside.

Using the paddle blade on a stand mixer, mix the oil, sugar, and buttermilk until combined. Next, add the eggs (whipped), food coloring, vinegar, vanilla and water and mix well.  Slowly but deliberately, add the dry ingredients a bit at a time and mix on the lowest setting and mix until just combined, scraping down sides occasionally.  Make sure to not over mix, or the batter will come out tough.  Its done mixing when the color is uniform.  Line a 16-cup cupcake pan or two 8-cup pans with paper liners, scoop the batter just below top edge of paper liner and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean. Then let them cool and make sure to decorate them sooner than later.  After an hour, they begin to dry out.  At this point you will need to wash the mixing bowl and paddle blade attachement.

For the cream cheese frosting:

Whip the butter and cream cheese together in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until creamed. Gradually add powdered sugar to the mixture and scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and mix until combined.

The frosting can be used right away, or stored in the refrigerator up to a week.

Frost cooled cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting.

Red Velvet Cupcastrophe....

Ok, so I need a little help understanding the fascination with Red Velvet Cup Cakes...  I asked a friend for a challenge and this little red devil of a task was handed to me.  After I looked at a few recipes, I was intrigued by similar ingredients in all of them.  I figured I was up for the challenge, but some of the ingredients caught my eye more that others.  This was the mixture of white vinegar, baking soda and red food coloring, which were the same ingredients that we used as kids during science experiments to emulate volcanoes... 
What does a really great Red Velvet Cup Cake taste like?  Is it Chocolate masked by the red color? Is it the icing, which has 4 cups of powdered sugar in it?  Please comment to tell me.  I followed a recipe I found online and the cake came out more pink than red and the flavor was bland with a hint of egg.  I wasn't really impressed by the result, but the $11 dollar icing was pretty amazing.  I am going to experiment a little bit more, adjusting ingredients a bit to figure out better flavors.   I'll keep you posted on the progress of this and maybe we collectively can figure out the best recipe that is easy to make!!!

A Quick, Healthy, Deconstructed Turkey Chili

Ok, so the demands for a new recipe have been heard.  The New Year has brought on some distractions from the kitchen but here is a recipe I came up with on the fly.  It’s pretty good and follows one of my New Year’s resolutions to eat healthier.  This recipe was thought up walking through the market and includes whole container measuring.  Enjoy.

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: 15-25 mins

Servings 4-8

Ingredients:

Lb ground turkey breast

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

14.5 oz can pinto beans

Med White onion sliced

Red bell pepper halved & sliced

2 tbs minced garlic

1 tbs chipotle chile sauce

2 tsp tikka paste

Black pepper and sea salt to taste

¼ cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese

2 Pkgs Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice – Whole Grain

Prep:

Start with a 12” nonstick frying pan on med/high heat.  Add enough vegetable oil to coat the entire bottom.  Add the sliced onion and red pepper, sauté till onion just turns translucent (5mins).  Add drained and rinsed pinto beans to pan and stir to mix.  2 mins later add canned tomatoes, tikka paste, chipotle sauce and garlic to pan. Stir frequently to mix all flavors.  When the contents of the pan begin to simmer, add the ground turkey breast and break it up in the pan with a spoon.  Mix again to coat turkey stirring every 2 mins or so until turkey is cooked about 10 mins.  While this is happening prepare the rice to the instructions on package.  When turkey is done, salt and pepper to taste and serve while hot!!  Garnish with sharp cheddar cheese on a bed of Whole Grain Rice.